GBAS Ch 2

“That, I think it just moved-.”

The moment he spotted the lump wriggling again in the same spot, a large object sprang out from the middle of the mound.

“Whoa!”

Boom! Crash!

Simultaneously with Hyunwoo’s scream, all the mounds scattered around erupted into the sky with a tremendous roar. The dirt and rocks piled on the ground churned and took shape, and the ground vibrated along with their movements.

“Holy shit-!”

He knew he had to get to where his party members were, but he didn’t know when and where the things surrounding him would reach out. All Hyunwoo could do was stand rooted to the spot, which felt relatively safe, and assess the situation.

Rumble!

The peaceful BGM that had been playing until just now changed to music with an urgent beat. The dust rising from the dry ground tickled his nose.

As the red dust gradually settled, the noise subsided as well. Is it over? Hyunwoo, removing his forearm which was covering his mouth and nose, looked up at what stood tall before him.

“Wh, what is this?”

Clumps of dirt that had been covering the stones fell onto Hyunwoo’s head. The rocks, clumped together, had now formed a giant shape that easily surpassed a person’s height.

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: What is that

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: Golem’s cousin??

Golem?

Hyunwoo, who had been moving his gaze from bottom to top, lifted his head sharply to check the top of the monster’s head.

[Earth Moss Golem]

He read the name floating above its head, but Hyunwoo, still with a dubious expression, tilted his head.

[Party] BlueBadge: Oh, Earth Moss?

[Party] BlueBadge: Maybe it’s because the area is different

[Party] BlueBadge: It looks a bit strange too

BlueBadge was right.

The monster in front of him was similar to the golems he had seen so far, but it looked somewhat different. The edges of the rocks were smooth, and long blue runes were engraved on its arms and legs. The biggest difference was the large, green-tinged core attached to the center of its chest.

“Maybe it’s because the area is different.”

It looks interesting. It was while Hyunwoo was examining the golem standing tall in front of him piece by piece with curious eyes.

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: But wait

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: Where did he really go

At the message that seemed to be looking for him, Hyunwoo looked towards where they were gathered.

He wanted to jump up and down and shout that he was here, but he couldn’t move recklessly because of the situation. This was because a golem with an unusual aura was growling next to him.

Hyunwoo followed the shadow cast in front of him and looked up at the golem.

It’s quite far, I wonder if I can avoid it by running……

I should have stayed close. Hyunwoo’s back stiffened as he gauged the distance between him and his party members.

Just as Hyunwoo, who was looking for a chance to escape while glancing between the golem and the location of his party members, tried to turn his body slightly,

“……!”

Hyunwoo, lifting his head with a bad feeling, gave an awkward smile.

It didn’t look like it had anything resembling ears, but surprisingly, its hearing seemed to be good. To think it reacted to the sound of sand cracking under his boots.

The golem, making eye contact with Hyunwoo, let out a threatening roar and shook its whole body.

Roar-!

At that moment, light emanated from the golem’s large core.

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: Huh? Why is he over there?

[Party] JiNyeongKun: Hey you!

The moment he was about to turn to where his party members were at the sound of them calling him, he heard a sound like wind cutting through the air from somewhere. Simultaneously, exclamation mark icons, signaling danger, filled his vision.

[Party member ‘JuJuPresident’ sends a warning.]

[Party member ‘JuJuPresident’ sends a warning.]

[Party member ‘JuJuPresident’ sends a warning.]

Just as he was about to wave his arm to delete the pop-ups that uncomfortably filled the screen, a rock flew past, barely grazing the tip of his right hand.

“……!”

It happened in an instant. A deafening roar erupted at the same time as his eyes widened.

Kaboom!!!!!

In a short moment, the things that had formed the ground shattered and scattered in all directions. Hyunwoo jumped up with all his might without a second thought.

“Whoa!”

It was fortunate that he had invested a lot in his agility stat. Thanks to the activated evasion passive, Hyunwoo’s body, which had pierced through the fragments, was left without a scratch.

Hyunwoo’s body quickly rose into the blue sky.

Looking down from above, the monsters surrounding him were clearly visible. Hyunwoo quickly scanned below and counted the number of monsters.

“One, two……”

He thought there was only one in front of him, but there were more of them than he expected. About ten small ones, and three or four larger ones. The only fortunate thing was that the one in front of him was the largest.

‘What do I do now?’

Thanks to jumping up at the right time, he was able to avoid the attack, but unfortunately, as a summoner, Hyunwoo didn’t have any movement skills like teleport or air step.

That meant he would soon fall back to the very spot he had jumped up from.

Hyunwoo looked down at his feet and clenched his teeth in dizziness.

This is crazy.

What awaited Hyunwoo was a bottomless darkness that seemed impossible to survive if he fell as he was.

His body, soaring into the air, gradually slowed down, and the hem of his outfit, stretched long towards the ground, fluttered. It meant he had reached the peak.

Hyunwoo’s body, which had been floating in the air for a moment, began to plummet, cutting through the air.

Just then, the party members, finally noticing Hyunwoo, looked up at the sky, and BlueBadge, who had been waiting as if ready to jump out at any moment, scrunched up his face.

[Party] BlueBadge: Uh oh????

[Party] BlueBadge: Why are you just watching?

What’s with that expression? Are these people all crazy?

No matter how high-ranked he was, a summoner was a summoner. That summoner, notorious for being squishy, even more so than a bishop.

It was clear that if he fell like that, he would crash into the fissure and lose his life, but for some reason, the party members looking at Hyunwoo had very relaxed expressions.

The guild <Chain Reaction>, said to be composed only of top-ranked players. The rumors circulating outside weren’t very good, but he had joined them on a trial basis because they were said to have a relatively cooperative atmosphere among guilds where individual play was rampant.

The first impression wasn’t bad. With the friendly vice guild master and the seemingly well-united atmosphere for a top-ranked guild, he thought he had come to the right place……

To think they’re already revealing their true colors after only a few days!

Sigh.

Even if he’s going to go, shouldn’t he at least save the person? BlueBadge, resolving to give his friend, Bachheuk, who had brought him here, a piece of his mind soon, stepped in front of the party members who were watching as if they were watching fireworks and said,

[Party] BlueBadge: Doesn’t anyone have a movement skill or protection skill that can reach there?

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: Huh?

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: At that speed, I’ll fall with him

[Party] BlueBadge: No, but we have to save him!!!!!

They meant that they would just watch because they might die together if they clumsily tried to help. The dumbfounded BlueBadge moved his gaze busily, scanning his skill window.

Then, JuJuPresident, approaching BlueBadge, patted his shoulder as if telling him to stop and said,

[Party] JuJuPresident: It’s okay, it’s okay

[Party] BlueBadge: No, what do you mean it’s okay

[Party] JuJuPresident: You don’t know what you’re talking about

[Party] BlueBadge: What?

[Party] JuJuPresident: You’re making us look like such trashㅠ

If watching a fellow party member die isn’t trashy, then what is?

[Party] BlueBadge: No

[Party] BlueBadge: The quest will be messed up if you dieㅠ

[Party] JuJuPresident: Oh right

[Party] JuJuPresident: That’s true

[Party] JuJuPresident: But do I just rush in to save him?

[Party] JuJuPresident: I might die instead of himㅠ?

[Party] JiNyeongKun: Looks like Pa-ddak can’t stand being the only support wow

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: lolol

BlueBadge looked at JuJuPresident, who was spouting nonsense, as if he was looking at a strange person, and then cast a protection skill.

[Party member ‘BlueBadge’ has used ‘Wind Armor’.]

[A strong wind surrounds you. Physical defense increases.]

He had cast a buff that increased physical defense, but if he had started falling from that height, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to absorb all the fall damage that accumulated according to the altitude from the starting point of the fall.

If he left him like this, he would crash into the ground and die. If that happened, he would be the only supporter in this party. Losing him, a top-ranked supporter, in a situation where they didn’t even know how much was left until the quest was completed, would be a great loss of power. Even if he was a summoner.

[Party member ‘BlueBadge’ has used ‘Blessing’.]

[A holy light surrounds you. Attack and defense increase.]

[Party member ‘BlueBadge’ has used ‘Light Step’.]

[A holy light surrounds you. Your steps become lighter. Evasion rate increases.]

[Party] JuJuPresident: Wow, look at those sweet buffs

JuJuPresident, looking at BlueBadge, who was casting all the helpful skills he could, with pitiful eyes, clicked his tongue and continued,

[Party] JuJuPresident: But hey, man

[Party] JuJuPresident: Don’t try too hard haha

Don’t try too hard? What does that even mean? BlueBadge’s eyes narrowed a bit more.

He might have been called a side dish in the past, but where did supporters stand now? This wasn’t ancient times, he couldn’t tolerate such shabby treatment.

JuJuPresident, watching BlueBadge frantically rummaging through his inventory to find even a throwable health potion, snorted and pointed at NationalSlaveShowoff, who was falling at a terrifying speed.

[Party] JuJuPresident: He may seem a little dimwitted, but he’s not a complete idiot, you know?

[Party] BlueBadge: What did you say?

That was when it happened.

[Party] JuJuPresident: It’s about time he showed it

Hyunwoo, falling with all the strength drained from his body, muttered, clutching something in his hand.

…….

At that moment, something that appeared in mid-air swallowed Hyunwoo’s body, which was plummeting towards the ground.